The Boulder-based company on Thursday fired developer evangelist Adria Richards, who last week publicly criticized two guys for apparently telling “forking” and “dongle” jokes at a programming conference.

SendGrid took the unusual step of announcing the firing in a tweet and Facebook post Thursday, stating that the move was effective immediately.

“While we generally are sensitive and confidential with respect to employee matters, the situation has taken on a public nature,” the company wrote. “We have taken action that we believe is in the overall best interests of SendGrid, its employees, and our customers. As we continue to process the vast amount of information, we will post something more comprehensive.”

Organizers of the PyCon conference in Santa Clara, Calif., responded to Richards with a tweet that said they had “dealt with the situation.” That apparently meant that the two guys were kicked out. One of the guys was subsequently fired by his employer, Playhaven.

In the wake of fiasco, PyCon organizers amended its code of conduct to encourage attendees to report issues privately, preferably in writing.

The termination of Richards' employment generated its own firestorm Thursday in the social networking world, including on Twitter, Reddit and Y Combinator.

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